The new research centre is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of
people in Wales and beyond, by conducting high-quality research on topics of
national policy priority in primary, emergency and unscheduled care.

PRIME
Centre Wales is led by Cardiff University, alongside partner universities
Bangor, Swansea, and South Wales, with £2.7M funding awarded over three years
by Health and Care Research Wales.

Other invited speakers at the
meeting include Professor Jean White, Chief Nursing Officer, Welsh Government;
Professor Niro Siriwardena, Professor of Primary and Pre-Hospital Health Care,
University of Lincoln; Mr Simon Denegri, NIHR National Director for Patients
and the Public in Research and Chair, INVOLVE; Dr Ruth Hussey, Chief Medical
Officer, Welsh Government; and Dr Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief, The BMJ.

Research in the area of
primary, emergency and unscheduled medicine is crucial as 90% of people’s
contacts with the NHS takes place in the community, rather than in hospital.
With an ageing population, the numbers of people with complex health and social
care problems is increasing. Strong primary, emergency and unscheduled care are
essential to an effective and efficient health service.

Much of the management of
long term conditions such as diabetes, asthma, COPD, epilepsy and heart disease
has shifted from hospitals to primary care. Rehabilitation and promotion of
self-management are increasingly also managed in the community. Appropriate use
of and responses provided by unscheduled and emergency care services are
critical to the provision of high quality and timely emergency care, as well as
to efficient primary, secondary and social care services.

The centre will build on
existing areas of scientific excellence in Wales with core research themes
centred on long term conditions, patient centred and prudent health care,
infections and antibiotic resistance, emergency and unscheduled (including
pre-hospital) care, patient safety and health care improvement, as well as
prevention, screening and early diagnosis.

Minister for
Health and Social Services, Mark Drakeford, said:

“This is an exciting development, which together with other high-quality health
research taking place across Wales, will help our NHS to address current and
future challenges. PRIME Centre Wales will engage professionals and translate
its findings into good practice focused on excellent patient outcomes.”

Professor
Adrian Edwards from the School of Medicine and Director of PRIME Centre Wales:

“This is a wonderful opportunity
to do the research, with and for patients and the public, that is so needed in
these vital areas of the NHS. At a time of great challenges for the NHS, and an
ageing population with increasingly complex health and care needs, effective
and good quality, patient-centred primary and emergency care services are
absolutely essential for the overall NHS to provide the healthcare that
patients need and want.”

Health
and Care Research Wales is a national, multi-faceted, virtual organisation
funded and overseen by the Welsh Government.